How the Chargers' 2025 Free Agency Class Has Aged One Year Later

The Los Angeles Chargers 2025 class was not one of much excitement, even with their large amount of cap space to spend. Fans critiqued general manager Joe Hortiz for not spending big, even though that has never been his team-building philosophy.

A year later, were these criticisms valid? Was the professional team builder right in his philosophy?

Mekhi Becton

Contract Signed: two years, $20 million, $6.94 million guaranteed.

2025 Performance: Mekhi Becton being the Chargers "splash" free agent signing, allowed for plenty of fans to have high expectations for the Superbowl winning guard. Becton was coming off a career year and was expecting to continue his development with the Chargers. That simply did not happen, and Becton was arguably one of the worst Chargers players on the entire roster in 2025.

Road Ahead: Becton is expected to be cut as soon as the team is allowed to do so. His terrible performance and cuttable contract allow for the Bolts to move on quickly from this swing and a miss of a signing.

Donte Jackson

Contract Signed: two years, $13 million, $7 million guaranteed.

2025 Performance: Donte Jackson has been a veteran cornerback for many years, known for his aggressive, ball-hawking abilities. Coming off a season filled with high highs and low lows with the Steelers, the Chargers were able to harness the highs and quiet the lows, allowing Jackson to have one of the best seasons of his career. All for 6.5 million average per year.

Road Ahead: With a career season with the Bolts and another year under contract, look for Jackson to be on the team in 2026, likely as the teams starting boundary cornerback.

Najee Harris

Contract Signed: one year, $5.25 million, $5.25 million guaranteed.

2025 Performance: One of the saddest stories in regard to the Chargers season was the exciting free agent signee, Najee Harris. After an off-season filled with his mysterious eye injury, Harris tore his Achilles tendon three games into the season. However, Harris looked solid in his limited action.

Road Ahead: It is likely that Harris will not be back with the Chargers, especially with Mike McDaniel as the new offensive coordinator. To make matters worse, Harris' NFL future is up in the air due to age and injury concerns.

Keenan Allen

Contract Signed: one year, $3.02 million, $2.255 million guaranteed.

2025 Performance: Keenan Allen was brought in after another person on this list randomly retired. Allen was welcomed back to the team that drafted him and performed extremely well, especially in the early portion of the season. His 81 catchesfor 777 yards and four touchdowns was extremely welcome in a generally not-so-great offense.

Road Ahead: Allen will be 34 next season and has been showing signs of athletic decline, even that is not very important to his game as a receiver. The idea is that Allen will return only if the Chargers want him to. If he is moved on from, it is likely that Allen will retire or have a late-season ring chase signing.

Tyler Conklin

Contract Signed: one year, $3 million, $2.83 million guaranteed.

2025 Performance: Many believed the signing of Tyler Conklin would yield a steal at the position, a starting-caliber tight end for Justin Herbert and this offense. In week one, that looked to be the case. However, afterward, Conklin declined and his role eventually was reduced to strictly special teams due to the emergence of fifth-round rookie Oronde Gadsden II.

Road Ahead: With the Chargers finding the future at the position and Conklin's seven catch, 101-yard season is likely a sign that he will be moving on from Los Angeles to try to revive his career elsewhere.

Mike Williams

Contract Signed: one year, $3 million, $3 million guaranteed.

2025 Performance: As a long time former Charger, when Mike Williams was signed back to the team, fans were extremely excited to see him in Powder Blue. Williams unfortunately retired quickly after the signing, which led for the team to reunite with the aforementioned Allen.

Road Ahead: Williams did not close the door for returning in 2026, but the question would lie in the Chargers actually being interested in him returning and taking up a roster spot on their 2026 team.

Benjamin St-Juste

Contract Signed: one year, $2.5 million, $1 million guaranteed.

2025 Performance: As one of the more controversial signings for the Chargers, Benjamin St-Juste was actually a very key defender in their secondary for the season. Serving as the fourth CB on the team, his time rotating and subbing in was a great component for the strong Chargers secondary.

Road Ahead: While the 2.5 million dollar price point likely went up, the Chargers should look to re-sign St-Juste to keep strong depth on their roster.

Da’Shawn Hand

Contract Signed: one year, $2.35 million, $725,000 guaranteed.

2025 Performance: The Chargers wanted to bolster their interior defensive line, and Da'Shawn Hand did just that. Even with some missed time, Hand was able to be a solid presence for the interior, allowing for young players like Jamaree Caldwell and Justin Eboigbe to develop at a steadier pace.

Road Ahead: Teair Tart signed to return to the Chargers just a few days ago, but that should not prevent the Bolts from continuing to keep continuity on their interior. Hand earned a spot on the roster in 2026.

Trey Lance

Contract Signed: one year, $2 million, $1.5 million guaranteed.

2025 Performance: Trey Lance was brought in to compete with QB2 Taylor Heinicke for the spot. Lance ended up winning the job with an impressive preseason performance. In a few spots throughout the season, Lance looked capable as a backup in the league.

Road Ahead: With the development we have seen for Lance in Powder Blue, it would be smart of the Chargers to have him return to the team as their backup. Unless they see another team paying him enough to warrant the Bolts a compensatory selection.

Del’Shawn Phillips

Contract Signed: one year, $2 million, $700,000 guaranteed.

2025 Performance: Del'Shawn Phillips went from a cut-candidate due to a lack of an off-season to playing meaningful snaps in the playoffs. His special teams performance was among the top of the NFL, and when asked to play on defense, Phillips was also quite good.

Road Ahead: Every team needs good special team players and depth across their front seven on defense. Phillips brings just that and has earned the right to continue his career in Los Angeles.

Naquan Jones

Contract Signed: one year, $1.835 million, $250,000 guaranteed.

2025 Performance: Naquan Jones looked to be an intriguing contract steal for the Chargers. In 2025, he was able to perform well in his very limited defensive snaps. However, the Chargers inexplicably decided to cut him midseason, where he found himself quickly claimed by the Houston Texans, where his future now lies.

Road Ahead: No longer with the Chargers, the Texans hold the decision for Jones' 2026 contract.

Andre James

Contract Signed: one year, $1.17 million, $0 guaranteed.

2025 Performance: Andre James might have made the most positive noise out of any backup Center in 2025. Bolt fans were screaming for James to start over starter Bradley Bozeman, which unfortunately only happened in Week 18. James looks fine in his limited snaps, but his hype was nothing more than a want for change for the Center position.

Road Ahead: James could look to return to the Bolts in 2026 to continue his role as a backup, or he can look elsewhere for a better chance to play.

Nyheim Miller-Hines

Oct 12, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Chargers running back Nyheim Hines (31) warms up. — Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Contract Signed: one year, $1.17 million, $0 guaranteed.

2025 Performance: Nyheim Miller-Hines' career was pretty much over before his chance with the Chargers, where he proved to be impressive in his limited regular season snaps. He was unfortunately cut early in the season, where he never found another home.

Road Ahead: Miller-Hines' career is likely to be over, as running backs who have an injury history and an older age are a recipe for an ending career.

Final Takeaways

The Chargers chose to spend in a frugal manner in 2025, which seemed to yield generally solid results. Plenty of these players are looking to return in 2026, this time with a large contract attached to their name.

This is a sign of good coaching and recognition by the front office and coaching staff, but with the miss of Mekhi Becton, the verdict is still out for their ability to get big-name free agents and have them be "worth it." 2026 will be a good test for the Chargers to see if they are truly one of the better front offices in the league.

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